US President Joe Biden told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their virtual meeting today that it is not in India’s interest to increase its imports of energy from Russia, White House spokeswoman Jen Saki was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Saki described the conversation as productive and constructive, not “hostile.” She declined to say whether Biden had asked for specific commitments from India on energy imports.
Biden told Modi that the United States was ready to help India diversify its energy imports, Saki said, noting that India already imported more energy from the United States than from Russia.
“The president has made it very clear that it is not in their interest to increase imports from Russia,” she said.
India will import 100 tons of natural uranium and 133 fuel assemblies
India will import 100 tons of natural uranium and 133 fuel assemblies this fiscal year, which begins on April 1, The Economic Times reported.
This was stated by the Minister of Public Affairs Jinedra Singh in the Parliament and specified that nuclear fuel in the form of fuel cartridges is supplied by Russia for the Kudankulam NPP.
It was not clear from Singh’s words which countries planned to import natural uranium, but the minister reminded us that India has agreements with Kazakhstan, Canada, Russia, and Uzbekistan. In the financial year 2021-2022, India imported 999.82 tons of natural uranium from Kazakhstan for about $ 75.4 million and over 1,000 tons from Canada for about $ 81.5 million.
The United States is introducing a bill to ban the import of Russian uranium
Republican senators have introduced a bill to ban Russian uranium imports from the United States as part of a comprehensive package of US sanctions against Russia.
The agency notes that the Biden administration is currently considering sanctions against Russia’s nuclear power company Rosatom, a major supplier of fuel and technology to nuclear power plants around the world. The United States has already banned the import of Russian fossil fuels – oil, gas, and coal.
“While banning the import of Russian oil, gas, and coal is an important step, it cannot be the last,” said Senator John Barrasso, who introduced the bill.
However, Reuters notes that Barrasso represents Wyoming, a state that could benefit from a revival of uranium mining in the United States.
The United States has more than 90 nuclear reactors, more than any other country, and relies heavily on imported uranium. Russian uranium accounts for 16% of US imports of this product in 2020, according to the Energy Information Administration, with Canada and Kazakhstan providing 22% each.
Russia also supplies fuel called high-grade low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which is up to 20% enriched and can be used in state-of-the-art nuclear power plants expected to be developed later this decade or next.
The United States is likely to need to take swift action to build more domestic capacity to supply this type of fuel if a ban is imposed. Many conservationists and Native American activists oppose uranium mining and enrichment in the country.
